Shaner Hotels may have lost out on the contract to manage Durham's convention center, but they're being good sports about it.

They've even sent a letter of congratulations to the company taking their place.

"I admire your sales and marketing abilities," Durham Marriott General Manager Dick Brezinski wrote in an email this morning to executives of Global Spectrum, which is now in charge.

The convention center, jointly owned by Durham city and county, shares a building with a hotel owned by the Shaner company and operating as a Marriott franchise. Shaner had also managed the convention center since buying the hotel in 1996, but on Monday the city council and county commissioners voted to bring in new management in hopes of cutting operating deficits and attracting more business.

Shaner tried unsuccessfully to retain its management contract, but CEO Lance Shaner had said that if Global was selected his company would cooperate in transition and as building-mates. Brezinski reiterated that position in his email:

"We stand ready to help you settle in here, and we look forward to learning from your past experiences with Centers and nearby hotels. We will need help understanding how to go after groups together, and how to produce seamless successful events. ... Welcome to Durham," he wrote.

The convention center is currently closed for renovation. Global has one contract, effective as soon as the ink is dry and running through June 30, to run and market the center through the renovation and management changeover. Its long-term contract begins July 1 and runs up to five years.

The county commissioners and city council both voted unanimously this afternoon to hire Global Spectrum Inc. to run the downtown meeting facility for the next five years.

Their votes approved deal points and authorized County Manager Mike Ruffin and City Manager Tom Bonfield to conclude a contract with Global Spectrum, said Assistant County Manager Drew Cummings.

The convention center is jointly owned by the city and county.

Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Comcast Corp., will be taking over from Shaner Hotel Group, which owns the hotel that shares the convention center’s building at Chapel Hill and Foster streets.

City and county adminsitrations began considering a change after the convention center ran annual operating deficits averaging more than $1 million over the past several years.